But on March 7, Crosland did something that has upset animal lovers, activists and some parents of Preston Junior High School students, and forced school officials to launch an investigation. He fed a sick puppy to a snapping turtle as his young students looked on. It happened after school in what district Superintendent Marc Gee called “a regrettable circumstance involving some of the biological specimens,” the East Idaho News reported.

“The event occurred well after students had been dismissed and was not part of any school-directed program,” Gee said in a statement. He also said students and staff were safe during the feeding incident.

It’s unknown whether the puppy was alive or dead when it was fed to the turtle.